


Of leaders and worries

by ichikonohakko



Series: Of just being joyful [3]
Category: JBJ (Band), Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Gen, I am a KenTae trash, Jonghyun is worried about Hyunbin, M/M, Taehyun and Jonghyun bonding, Taehyun is not, bcs he worries not only about hyunbin but about EVERYTHING, in which my favorite leaders in PD101 bonds over maknae problem, please bear with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 09:12:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12208209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichikonohakko/pseuds/ichikonohakko
Summary: “Good evening, Taehyun-ssi.”Ah. What a nostalgic voice, even when it’s only a few months ago.“Hyung is fine,” Taehyun sauntered, easy laughter dancing in his voice. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of being called by the Nation’s Leader?”





	Of leaders and worries

**Author's Note:**

> Please disregard my headcanon roomings. Now it's the canon Taehyun-Donghan and Kenta-Sanggyun-Hyubin-Yongguk as the Enjoy JBJ rooming.

“Hyung, Taehyunie-hyung,”

“Donghanie, _please_ I’m tired.”

Donghan’s hands were warm on his back, half-massaging half-shaking him awake, sometimes Taehyun was just so thankful that Donghan’s hands work like magic but most of the time he was walking in autopilot mode to the bed after a long day. Donghan’s voice often tittered and Taehyun always made an effort to stay awake and respond to him, but to no avail. He was dead tired and his body refused to cooperate.

(He was glad that Junhyuk-hyung and Hojung always seems to be awake to listen to all his rants, important or no. He hated to be an ass, but he understands Timo-hyung and Yoonsan better now)

Usually, Donghan would leave him alone by the time he resorted to incoherent grumbling, but he persisted.

“Kim Donghan I swear—“

“Your phone…”

Taehyun sat up almost immediately. As the leader of JBJ (and an idol of two years, but this reason always went unspoken) Taehyun was allowed his phone for the night to organize their schedules, at least until they debuted officially. But nobody knew that, so nobody called him. Except the manager (who lived downstairs) and people he told…

God.

“Thanks Donghan-ah,” Taehyun took his phone from the bedside table and scrambled outside to the empty living room. Oh, even Longguo was not in his permanent throne in the sofa, so it was already very late then.

The phone was still vibrating and Taehyun was glad that whoever it was in the end of the line waited until the last ring. He examined the number. Did Timo-hyung change his number again?

(He had both Sungwoon’s managers’ numbers saved, so it can’t be him either)

Taehyun narrowed his eyes, but then he took a deep breath and answered the phone. “Hello, Noh Taehyun speaking.”

_“Good evening, Taehyun-ssi.”_

Ah.

What a nostalgic voice, even when it’s only a few months ago Taehyun heard it coming from the practice room just next to his.

“Hyung is fine,” Taehyun sauntered, easy laughter dancing in his voice. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of being called by the Nation’s Leader?”

Kim Jonghyun laughed with that uneasy laughter of his, one that always make Taehyun think thrice if he had offended the younger or not. They hadn’t really had the opportunity to talk, but he knew that Jonghyun (and the others from Pledis) knew exactly what Taehyun felt the night Representative BoA called Sungwoon’s name to sit on those comfortable yet fragile chairs he had never sat on.

(And they had been much more mature than Taehyun, too, when the cameras panned to their smiling faces compared to Taehyun’s crying figure. The others never said anything when Taehyun returned home, but Yoonsan’s hand never stopped rubbing Taehyun’s back and it spoke a _lot_.)

 _“I’m sorry for calling you this late, Taehyun-ss—I mean hyung,”_ Jonghyun said after he laughed that uneasy laugh again. _“I got your number from Minhyun, who got it from Sungwoon-hyung, I hope you don’t mind it.”_

“You make me feel like a grandpa, Jonghyun-ah,” Taehyun snickered. “Please, I think we have a special bond that only you, Choi Minki, Kang Dongho, and I can understand. Now, I don’t think you called me this late just to bother my beauty sleep. What’s up?” Just as he asked this question, Kenta emerged from his room. He sleepily blinked at Taehyun, who immediately pointed to the phone on his ear. Kenta blinked before he went over to the kitchen, no doubt to have some water.

_“Um, well, I heard that Hyunbinie is going to debut soon.”_

Ah.

Sorry Sorry Team 2.

“Yeah, on October. I’m actually in our dorm now—we just moved in a week ago—do you want to talk to him?”

_“N-no, it’s fine. I’m just…”_

“Worried?”

There was a silence, and Taehyun concluded that Jongyhun must have nodded his head. Cute. And at the same time, Taehyun was honestly amazed at the younger man. It had been _months_ since Sorry Sorry Team 2 happened and yet here he was, phoning the person who was rumored to be the maknae’s new leader in the team he was to debut in. Hyunbin is really loved, it seems, or he was just loved—but it was Kim Jonghyun who loved him, so it was different.

Kenta chose to return to the room as the silence stretched between Jonghyun and Taehyun. He listlessly sat himself a few meters away from Taehyun, hot chocolate in his hands as he sleepily nodded off. Taehyun smiled at his antics. Kenta was cute, cuter than the maknae line even when he was supposed to be the second oldest. And he was also caring to all of them, he was nice and funny, and it was enough.

_“Yes, I’m worried. That kid is… handful. But he had so much potential and he caught Minhyun’s eyes and Minhyun’s never been wrong about someone’s potential so… I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”_

Taehyun lives in the same room as Sungwoon, Hojung, and Timo-hyung. He knew what rambling was and Jonghyun was _nowhere_ near what Taehyun constituted as rambling. Taehyun giggled at the memory and it earned Kenta’s stare. Taehyun ruffled the other’s hair absently. “You’re not rambling, Jonghyun-ah. You’re worried about Hyunbinie and that’s alright. Anything else you might want to add?”

 _“He… well, he’ll test your patience, hyung. But please trust me when I say everything will pay off when you see him succeed. He’s a nice kid and he can take criticism, but sometimes you also need to be hard on him. I just…”_ Taehyun waited as Jonghyun took a deep breath. _“Please don’t give up on him, hyung. I really wish that he’ll succeed, he really deserves it.”_ Jonghyun breathed lowly and Taehyun realized that his voice kind of echoed. And it was a familiar kind of echo, too. Practice room echo. Taehyun’s chest swelled with pride. He didn’t know why, but it just… _did._

_“Ah! I’m sorry if I seem like I’m patronizing you, Taehyun-hyungnim! I assure you I don’t mean to, I just—“_

“I know, it’s alright. Thank you, Jonghyun-ah, I’ll try my best to not give up on him. I…” Taehyun paused. Was it okay for him, the older one, to share his worries to a dongsaeng who has a chronic tendency to worry like Jonghyun? Kenta’s warm hand was on his thigh, calm and reassuring. Taehyun sighed. If he can share his worries about controlling Sanggyun and Donghan to Kenta, surely he can share his worries about Hyunbin to Jonghhyun, who had been his leader before. Taehyun pat the other’s hand and smiled. “Even though I’ve been leaders in team missions before, but I haven’t been a leader to an idol group and the two are immensely different, yeah?” Jonghyun would know, better than anyone, even better Taehyun himself.

“So I have my worries about leading the others. Even though I’m 25, even though I’m the oldest, even though I already debuted before. It’s silly, right?” This was… something he didn’t tell anyone other than Junhyuk-hyung. Something he didn’t want to tell to Sungwoon, because the other had been worried like a middle-aged ahjumma and Taehyun didn’t really want to add to that. “Especially Hyunbin, and Donghan, and Kenta, and Yongguk, they haven’t debuted before. I _have_ to make their debut the best there is because _they deserved it_.” Kenta had a cryptic look on his face, but he didn’t say anything. Taehyun sighed. “Now _I’m_ rambling. Sorry, Jonghyun-ah.”

 _“No no, it’s alright! It’s… nice to talk to another leader…”_ Which really meant _it’s nice to talk to someone who understands_. Jonghyun didn’t have the responsibility for Nu’est W’s debut, however, but must have felt the same responsibility Junhyuk-hyung felt to keep Hotshot afloat until Sungwoon returns. So he would have a home to return to. So all their efforts won’t be wasted. Taehyun now understood Junhyuk-hyung better, even better than the years he spent next to the man. Being a leader was difficult.

 _“JR-ah, please go home before I have to exert my hidden American to wrestle you back to the dorms.”_ A voice suddenly cut through the silence and Taehyun had to hold his laughter. That must be Nu’est’s estranged member, the only member older than the other four, the one that didn’t go to Produce 101 because of a scandal that wasn’t big enough for Taehyun to remember. What was his name again? A—something?

 _“Five more minutes, Aron-hyung, I’m on the phone with someone.”_ Jonghyun answered with a small laughter dancing in his voice. Right. Aron. Aron of Nu’est, the Korean-American who was both a rapper _and_ a singer. Like Taehyun, he was the all-rounder of Nu’est.

“Yeah, go home JR-ah, or it’s JR-sunbaenim for me right?”

_“Please, hyung, don’t. I… I can be just Jonghyun when I talk to you. It’s really nice.”_

He supposed so. Taehyun and Jonghyun was so different it was actually funny. Taehyun was older, but he was so much newer than Jonghyun in the idol world. Taehyun was (technically) the second oldest in the group, but he wasn’t the leader and he never had interest to be one. While here Jonghyun was, the second oldest, yeah, but there was only one other member who was older than him yet the others were the same age as him. And yet Nu’est loved him, respected him, and the entire nation along with them. It was funny, really, Taehyun could learn a lot from him.

“Uh, you can talk to me whenever you like, Jonghyun-ah. If you want to, that is.” Growing up krumping, an entire dance genre based off channeling one’s anger into a series of movements, had made quite an effect in Taehyun’s personality. Timo-hyung once described it as ‘rough’, Sungwoon preferred ‘impatient’, but all in all it made people wary around Taehyun. Yoonsan and Hojung never chose to confide in him if it wasn’t really necessary, and Sungwoon wasn’t really a dongsaeng. He was a friend. So Taehyun offering Jonghyun to talk like this was… well, Taehyun didn’t feel like he was qualified to do it.

Hell, sometimes he didn’t even feel qualified to be JBJ’s leader. They’d be better off with someone like Jonghyun, or Junhyuk-hyung, or… _anyone but Noh Taehyun_.

 _“That will be great, hyung, thank you.”_ Jonghyun spoke with so much relief and gratitude Taehyun _melted_. He sank lower on his seat and Kenta, ever the observant, realized that. “Now you better go before your resident hyung wrestles you back to your dorm.” Jonghyun laughed. _“Thank you for listening to me, hyung. I’m sorry for calling this late at night. Please take care of Hyunbinie for me.”_

“I told you that it’s fine, Jonghyun-ah. And even without you saying so I’m going to take care of him. Take care to you too.”

_“Good night, Taehyun-hyung.”_

“Night, Jonghyunie.”

And the phone was closed.

Kenta stared at him, as if waiting for his next words. Kenta was usually funny and chipper, but sometimes he would stare at them with a fire that cannot be explained burning in his eyes. Taehyun sometimes wonder about it, but so many other things took precedence over what seemed to be a meaningless wonder so he never really think about it in detail.

Taehyun sighed.

“Aigoo it seems that our Hyunbinie is so very very loved.”

Kenta relaxed and took the chocolate mug he had, at some point, put on the table. He smiled at Taehyun, temperate and considerate, as if coaxing him to tell everything. But Kenta managed to do it all without saying a word. Taehyun will be forever glad for Kenta’s future leader when he debuted with his own agency’s idol group, he made everything so much easier.

“It’s Jonghyun, he called me in the dead of the night because he’s worried for our maknae.” Kenta hummed at his explanation, asking no further elaboration as he was there the entire time. He then put the mug back on the table and draped himself over Taehyun’s stomach in a comfortable silence. “He shouldn’t have. He didn’t need to.” Kenta’s voice was so full of conviction and it was _comforting_. Taehyun’s heart raced louder. Kenta was not a mushy-person. He wasn’t touchy, at least, as far as Taehyun knew. But he gradually found out that Kenta will only do skinship when he was off camera and alone with the members, though he didn’t mind receiving it in public.

“We love our maknae too. Giant baby.” Kenta hums lowly, adoringly, and Taehyun echoed his sentiment. Hyunbin was… handful, true to Jonghyun’s testament, and he always lingered whenever Taehyun asked him to do something unlike the others, but it was cute. Taehyun didn’t mind it all that much. Yoonsan always lingered too whenever one of the hyungs asked him to do something, as if trying to discern their instructions in a silent wondering, and if he can take Yoonsan then he can wait for Hyunbin.

_He shouldn’t have. He didn’t need to._

Kenta believed him, absolutely, unconditionally, even without him asking. Taehyun smiled as he put an awkward hand on Kenta’s hair.

“Thank you, Kenta.”

Kenta hummed.

 

 

  


  


(Kenta fell asleep on him that way and Taehyun didn’t have the heart to move him. When Donghan went out to get his own water, he grinned as he took Taehyun-hyung’s phone to snap a picture of his hyungs sleeping so cutely before he settled himself on Kenta’s thigh. When the manager came to wake them up for a schedule, he had to smile at the sight of the entire JBJ asleep on the living room, hooking and tangling with each other. It was cute.)  


  



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